Desiccator cartridge



May 31, 1949. F. P. MORF DESICCATOR CARTRIDGE Filed May 18, 1945 J INVENIOR. FREDERICK MORF BY i ATTORNEY m oE Patented May 31, 1949 ITED STATES PATENT OFFICE (Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 0. G. 757) 2 Claims.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates to moisture-eliminating equipment and more particularly to desiccator cartridge units.

Devices have been previously employed for eliminating or reducing the moisture content in the chamber area of various types of equipment, the contents, parts or materials of which are detrimentally aifected by adjacent atmospheres, when such have moisture in excess of a certain degree of humidity, or by the depositing of such, when conditions cause the air to become saturated and an excess of water produced. In a particular form such a device consists of a small hollow container of simple design which is goosenecked and piped, and externally attached to the equipment area to be kept free from moisture.v

ceptable practice, when the hygroscopic material.

is abundant and available, and it is cheap in cost.

The disadvantages of this type of unit are:

(a) Absorbing action is restricted through the small area of the goose-neck connector, and is therefore relatively slow and inefficient;

(b) Access to lower layers of hygroscopic material is diflicult;

(c) Reactivating of hygroscopic material is inconvenient;

(d) Takes up space outside of equipment being desiccated and is more or less in the Way;

(e) Waste of material, if discarded.

In another form the container is of canister form, insertable in the equipment structure. It consists of a central cage containing silica gel, and held in back of wire screens on top and bottom of the canister. The screens allow air to get into contact with the material and absorb its moisture.

Covers with bent rims and tight enough to stay on are used to cover the top and bottom surfaces of the canister when not in use. When the contents become moisture loaded, they are discarded as is the previous form, or the canister is placed in an oven and dried out and reactivated by heating from the exterior. This form is objectionable owing to the requirement of an oven-such ovens are usually cumbersome and require operational care, take up space, require fuel, and. control; and personal attendance is necessary to prevent the hygroscopic material from being over-heated or burned. It is usually a relatively long time process.

It is an object of the invention to provide a new and improved desiccator cartridge unit that will avoid one or more of the disadvantages or limitations of desiccators previously known in the prior art.

Another object of this invention is to provide 7 a new and improved desiccator cartridge unit that can be reactivated readily without removing the hygroscopic material therefrom.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved desiccator cartridge unit that will have a self-contained'means for producing internal heating reactions sufiicient to reactivate the hygroscopic material therein.

An additional object of this invention is to provide a new and improved desiccator cartridge unit that can be attached inside of the equipment, in the area that is to have its moisture eliminated or reduced.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a new and improved desiccator cartridge unit that will have a relatively large moisture absorbing surface for drying air in the equipment in which it i placed.

A further additional object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved desiccator cartridge unit that will have the cartridge arranged so that its hygroscopic material can be kept in activated condition for indefinite periods, when not in use.

In a particular form of this invention a desiccat01- unit cartridge comprises a housing means having a perforated closed-in wall adapted to hold hygroscopic material or contents therein. A heating element means is disposed within this housing and arranged to position itself adjacent to this hygroscopic material. The perforated wall of the housin is adapted to permit the free access of the surrounding air to and from all sides of the material. A casing for hermetically scaling up the housing with its hygroscopic material and heating means within it, is provided for use when the unit is to be stored away out of use.

It can be appreciated that the heating element means may be heated by any source of heating energy suitable for the means used, and that the term electrical energy is broad enough to include any applicable form of electrical energy. Any structure required to hold the parts are included in this means. Also that the housing is comprehensive enough to include, lining screens, top flange, plug and other parts used in connection therewith and not included in the heating means andcasing.

For a'better understanding of thepresent invention, together with other and further objects thereof, reference is had to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, and its scope will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring now to the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side view, partlyin section, of a desiccator cartridge embodying this invention, as applied to the interior area of a cabinet;

Figure 2 is a bottom view'of Fig. l'lOOking upwardly;

Figure 3 is a side view, partly in section, of the :desiccator cartridge unit unattached, and having iaprotector casing mounted thereon,

:Figure 4 is aside View'of the plug used in Fig.

21; and

.Figure '5 is a detail of the under-side flange shown' in' Fig. 1.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the drawing.

Inthis particular form, a desiccator cartridge unit iflgconsistsiof a cylindrical housing assembl -l| having a body with a perforated tubular wall I 2, just. inside of which :a -meshed' screen lining i3 is mounted. The wall encloses a cylindrical sspaceild which'is arranged-to be closed at the :bottom'section Why a heater block 32. The upper section of the housing assembly consists of a circular flanged head lBjhaving a'dish-like upper surface ll and centrally drilled and tapped to form a hole 18 to take a cylindrical plug I 9 which is exteriorly screw-threaded at 2| to fit this-hole E8. The plug lilhas a relatively large central passage "22 in which is tightly fitted, a

"frame 23 containing a window 50 of transparent glass or plastic. The under side of the head i .is flanged inwardly and provided with a relatively large opening, centrally located therein. On this flange and internally within the head [6, gasket ring: 24 or resilient material is set. The peripheral surface :28 of the'flanged head 56 is preferably knurled to 'provide'a suitable manipulating re sistance during handling.

The gasket ring 24 is resiliently impressed by the frame 23 and provides an airtight coupling between the said frame 23 and the head it.

'A heater base block 32 'of'insulating material material formed into a helical shape. A central narrow tubular screen 3! passes up through the middle of the housing as indicated. The lower exterior of the housing head [6 is provided with 'arolled screw-thread 39, on which is threadedly piece 4 i. This flanged piece is provided with holes 142 for the insertion of rivets or bolts for attaching same to the side wall 43 of a cabinet. One or more annular gaskets 29 may be used between said wall 43 and the head l6 and the flanged piece 4| for a tight fit. This cabinet belongs to any =suitable+equipment "and holds the-materials and "mounted a removable internally threaded flanged to dry out the silica gel.

4 apparatus and has a space from which the moisture is to be eliminated by the unit cartridge. A casing M of tubular cup form and sufficient size is screwed on to the screw-threads 39 when the cartridge is removed from the cabinet so its hygroscopic material will be protected.

A suitable hygroscopicmaterial such as a silica gel, activated alumina and other known substances of this nature, is poured into the housing and shaken into it so as to fill in the space between the screen lining l3 and the screen 31. This is done by pouring it through the hole 18 in the flanged head it after the plug i9 is removed. This settles the silica gel around the elements 3| and 33 and against the screens l3 and 31. After it has been suitably filled, the plug i9 is replaced and screwed on tight against the gasket 24. The cartridge is then screwed into its flange piece 4| and bolted to the cabinet and is ready for operation. However, should it be desirable to store the cartridge for the time being and keep it in condition for instant use-the casing 44 is screwed on to the flanged head I 6 and brought tight against the resilient ring gasket 36.

When it is desired to reactivate the contents, consisting of silica gel or other hygroscopic material used, the operator couples the selected prong connections 34 or 35 through a ,cable .to a plug tied into any source of electrical current that is available, selecting the prongs and heating element capable of withstanding its voltage. current is then switched on and left on until the element is heated hot enough and long enough In this instance the silica gel is of the indicating type and turns to the color, to show what state of activationit'is in. Blue for activated; light pinkfor saturated with moisture.

The purpose of this desiccator cartridge is to keep the contents in activated condition at all times, or ready for expeditious activation. By having plural heating elements, various voltages may be employed. A battery of automobile voltage (6 to 12 v.) can be used; or coupling can be made to a regular service voltage, v.) whichever is available or convenient to use. After the desiccator cartridge isin position in the cabinet to be de-moistured, the surrounding air having access to the hygroscopic material through the perforations in the outside peripheral .wall, or through the central tubular wall is attracted and dried by it. In the last case the openings 46 in the lower section of the housing give entrance in to the tube and afford the necessary access. This provides a surface extendingover the greater length of the housing and its exterior and internal surfaces. The plug used for coupling the .plug of the device to external service, can be of usual conventional type for heating the silica gel 41. Ittherefore affords a very efiicient moisture absorbing action. When the casing 44 isplaced on the cartridge, to complete the unit,.it prevents the. air from getting to the hygroscopic material or its connecting prongs to wet or deteriorate same. This is put on when the desiccator cartridge is removed from the equipment. It is valuable in such a device to be able in a convenient and self-contained way, to reactivate the hygroscopic material in a safe, quick and effective manner, by the simple efiort. of attaching the unit cartridge to a battery or electric service that isusually available nearby, and at the same time have visible indications to tell theoperator when-the proper condition of activationhas been reached.

ture in usual conventional manner, which are well known to those skilled in the art. The temperature to which the heating elements are raised can be controlled so it will not harm the hygroscopic material.

While there has been described what is at present considered to be a preferred embodiment of this invention, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the invention or the principles thereof, and it is therefore aimed in the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A desiccator unit cartridge comprising a perforated cylindrical outer body closed. at one end, a cylindrical screen within said outer body and in contact with the latter throughout its length, an inner coaxial cylindrical screen spaced from said first named screen to provide therebetween an annular space for hygroscopic material, electrical heating means in said annular space for reactivating the hygroscopic material, a flanged head at the other end of said body, said flanged "head including means for attaching said cartridge to a body to be desiccated.

2. A desiccator unit cartridge as claimed in claim 1, said flanged head being provided with a window for observing the condition of hygroscopic material.

FREDERICK P. MORF.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

10 UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 558,840 Purves Apr. 21, 1896 1,429,856 Etter Sept. 19, 1922 1,604,709 Moyer Oct. 26, 1926 15 1,913,703 DAdrian June 13, 1933 1,920,915 Poggel Aug. 1, 1933 2,067,920 Heuser Jan. 19, 1937 2,127,121 Kelley Aug. 16, 1938 2,215,323 Guthrie J Sept. 17, 1940 20 2,222,828 Guthrie Nov. 26, 1940 2,224,819 Hull Dec. 10, 1940 2,335,901 Ayers Dec. 7, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS 5 Number Country Date 233,773 Great Britain May 14, 1925 437,139 Great Britain Oct. 24, 1935 

